Recording apparatus

• US 6,282,688 B1
• Filed: 03/27/1997
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan Limited (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyazawa, Syoichi, Kojima, Akira, Oeda, Takashi, Isono, Soichi, Tsunoda, Motoyasu, Ohi, Fukashi, Karasawa, Noriyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker, Stephen M.
• Application Number:
  US08/825,128
• Time in Patent Office: 1,615 Days
• Field of Search: 371/40.14, 714/769
• US Class Current: 714/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1008 in individual solid state devices G06F11/1004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1833 by adding special lists or symbols to the coded information G11B20/1806, G11B20/1866 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/00 Coding, decoding or code conversion, for error detection or error correction; Coding theory basic assumptions; Coding bounds; Error probability evaluation methods; Channel models; Simulation or testing of codes error detection or error correction for analogue/digital, digital/analogue or code conversion H03M1/00 – H03M11/00; specially adapted for digital computers G06F11/08; for information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B, e.g. G11B20/18; for static stores G11C

Abstract

A recording apparatus includes a plurality of ECC units operating selectively and independently. A medium access unit reads data from a recording medium in a read mode, and writes data from a host device to the recording medium in a write mode. The data read out from the recording medium contains a reproduction data and a medium reproduction check symbol added to the reproduction data, and data written contains a recording data and a medium recording check symbol added to the recording data. The reproduction data or the recording data is stored in a buffer. In a read mode, the reproduction data from the medium access unit is transferred to the host device through the buffer and in the write mode, the recording data from the host device is transferred to the medium access unit through the buffer. Each ECC units detects any error of the data stored based on the check symbol added to the data stored in the buffer during the transfer operation, corrects the data stored when the error is detected, and generates a check symbol from the data transferred. The check symbol generated is transferred to a destination of transfer after the data to be transferred.

Claims

1. A method of recording/reproducing data in a recording/reproducing apparatus including a plurality of error detection/correction (ECC) circuits, a plurality of bus switch circuits selecting an input and output of each of said ECC circuits to correct errors in the data to be recorded/reproduced, each of said ECC circuits generating check symbols from data input from said bus switch circuits and including input means for providing said check symbols to said bus switch circuits, and means for detecting and correcting a data error based on said data and said check symbols, said method comprising the steps of:

generating medium recording check symbols from recording data and recording the same to a recording medium in a write mode when said recording data stored in a buffer is recorded to said recording medium, by selectively using said plurality of ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits;

transferring reproduction data from said recording medium to a host device through said buffer in the read mode,

wherein said bus switch circuits assign each of said ECC circuits to a different circuit path on which a portion of said reproduction data is transferred during a data transfer;

detecting any error of said reproduction data based on medium reproduction check symbols added to said reproduction data during said transfer in the read mode, and correcting said reproduction data stored while subsequent data is being transferred, when the error is detected, thereby selectively using a plurality of said ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits;

detecting any error of said recording data based on host recording check symbols added to said recording data stored in the buffer, in the read mode or the write mode, selectively using said plurality of ECC circuits and correcting said recording data while subsequent data is being transferred, when the error is detected; and

generating host reproduction check symbols from said reproduction data and sending the host reproduction check symbols to said host during the data transfer from said buffer to said host device in the read mode selectively using said plurality of ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits.

2. A data recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of error detection/error correction (ECC) circuits;

a plurality of bus switch circuits each selecting an input and output of each of said ECC circuits to correct an error in transferred data;

wherein each of said ECC circuits generates check symbols from data input from said bus switch circuit, and includes input means for providing said check symbols to said bus switch circuits and means for detecting and correcting a data error based on said data and said check symbols;

means for generating medium recording check symbols from recording data and recording the same to a recording medium in a write mode when said recorded data stored in a buffer is recorded to said recording medium by selectively using said plurality of ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits;

means for transferring reproduction data from said recording medium to a host device through said buffer in the read mode,

wherein said bus switch circuits assign each of said ECC circuits to a different circuit path on which a portion of said reproduction data is transferred during a data transfer;

means for detecting any error of said reproduction data based on medium reproduction check symbols added to said reproduction data during said transfer in the read mode, and correcting said reproduction data stored while subsequent data is being transferred, when the error is detected, thereby selectively using said plurality of said ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits;

means for detecting any error of said recording data based on host recording check symbols added to said recording data stored in a buffer, in the read mode or the write mode, selectively using said plurality of said ECC circuits and correcting said recording data while subsequent data is being transferred, when the error is detected; and

means for generating host reproduction check symbols from said reproduction data and sending the same to said host during the data transfer from said buffer to said host device in the read mode selectively using said plurality of said ECC circuits and data input to said ECC circuits.